DR.    RICHARD    S.    STORRS' 


ANNUAL   ELECTION   SERMON 


LIBRARY 


SERMON 

DELIVERED    BEFORE 

HIS  EXCELLENCY  EDWARD  EVERETT, 

GOVERNOR, 

HIS  HONOR   GEORGE  HULL, 

LIEUTENANT    GOVERNOR, 

THE  HONORABLE  COUNCIL, 

AND 

THE   LEGISLATURE    OF   MASSACHUSETTS, 

ON   THE 

ANNIVERSARY   ELECTION, 

JANUARY    3,    1838. 


BY  RICHARD  S.  STORRS,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Braintree. 


Boston: 

BUTTON  AND    WENTWORTH,   PRINTERS   TO    THE    STATE. 


-  -  ,.; 


iEommontocaltl)  of 


HOUSE  OP  REPRESENTATIVES,  JAN.  4,  1838. 

Ordered,  That  Messrs.  THAYER,  of  Braintree,  PHELPS,  of  Hadley,  and  WARD, 
of  Middleborough,  be  a  committee  to  wait  on  the  Rev.  RICHARD  S.STORRS,  and 
present  him  the  thanks  of  this  House,  for  his  very  interesting  and  appropriate  dis- 
course, delivered  yesterday  before  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  and  to  request  a 
copy  thereof  for  the  press. 

L.  S.  GUSHING,  Clerk  of  House  of  Representatives. 


#%  A  few  paragraphs  of  the  following  discourse  were  omitted  in  the  deliv- 
ery for  want  of  time. 


SERMON. 


IT  was  the  spirit  of  piety  and  patriotism,  that  led 
the  fathers  of  New  England  to  recognize  their  de- 
pendance  on  God,  for  wisdom  to  guide,  and  firmness 
to  sustain  their  legislators,  in  the  execution  of  the 
high  trust  reposed  in  them  ;  and  also  to  adopt  the 
principle,  that  due  reverence  for  Jehovah  demanded 
the  introduction  of  their  fellow  citizens  to  official 
stations,  with  the  accompaniment  of  religious  servi- 
ces. And  nothing  surely  is  more  rational,  and  ap- 
propriate to  the  commencement  of  the.  business  of 
public  legislation,  than  the  devotement  of  an  hour 
to  earnest  supplication,  and  solemn  reflection  on  the 
reciprocal  duties  of  the  people  and  their  rulers,  as 
they  are  indicated  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

But  were  it  the  duty  of  one  who  officiates  on  an 
occasion  like  this,  to  furnish  an  elaborate  disquisi- 
tion on  the  science  of  government,  or  to  develope, 
and  illustrate  the  elements  of  political  knowledge, 
*1 


from  the  resources  of  philosophy  and  history — the 
present  speaker  must  have  declined  the  service.  It 
belongs  to  him  however,  only  to  refresh  your  minds 
on  topics  already  familiar  to  you  as  members  of  a 
Christian  community,  and  believers  in  the  Oracles  of 
God.  You  will  therefore  receive  with  candor,  such 
expositions  of  divine  truth,  as  seem  to  be  called  for, 
by  a  just  regard  to  the  welfare  of  our  country,  the 
prosperity  of  Zion,  and  the  glory  of  our  great  Bene- 
factor. 

Romans  xiii,  1.     "  LET  EVERY  SOUL  BE  SUBJECT  UNTO  THE  HIGHER 

POWERS.  FOR  THERE  IS  NO  POWER  BUT  OF  GOD  ;  THE  POWERS  THAT 
BE,  ARE  ORDAINED  OF  GoD." 

This  injunction  is  laid  upon  the  Christian  church, 
collectively  and  individually.  It  issues  from  su- 
preme authority,  and  involves  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  Christian  duty,  no  less  broad  and  compre- 
hensive than  all  the  social  relations  of  man.  It  was 
called  forth  by  the  agitating  spirit  of  the  times  in 
which  it  was  uttered,  and  by  the  strong  tendencies 
of  the  Jews,  as  a  nation,  to  sedition  and  rebellion  ; 
and  is  not  less  appropriately  addressed  to  all  com- 
munities of  men  now  claiming  allegiance  to  Heaven. 
The  fact  on  which  the  injunction  is  founded  admits 
of  no  limitation.  "  There  is  no  power  but  of  God  ; 
the  powers  that  be,  are  ordained  of  him."  The 


reason  of  the  injunction  therefore,  remains  unchang- 
ed through  all  time,  and  sustains  the  universal  gov- 
ernment of  God. 

God  is  the  fountain  of  all  power.  Human  gov- 
ernments have  their  origin  in  his  will.  "  Replen- 
ish the  earth  and  subdue  it,  and  have  dominion  over 
the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and 
over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  on  the  earth,'' 
is  the  original  commission  under  which  man  as- 
sumes the  control  of  the  inferior  tribes  of  animated 
nature ;  and  whether  we  deduce  his  right  to  the 
exercise  of  authority  over  his  fellow-men,  from  the 
general  principle  developed  in  the  fifth  command  of 
the  decalogue,  or  from  some  law  impressed  on  his 
original  constitution — it  makes  no  difference  ; — the 
will  of  Heaven  is,  that  man  shall  subsist  in  a  social 
state,  involving  relations  of  mutual  obligation  and 
dependence — that  some,  by  their  superior  wisdom 
and  energy,  shall  provide  for  the  public  security, 
and  vindicate  individual  rights  from  aggression, 
while  others  shall  defer  to  acknowledged  law,  and 
sustain  the  government  which  yields  them  protec- 
tion and  peace. 

Not  only  is  government  essential  to  the  prosperi- 
ty of  a  community,  but  to  its  very  existence.  The 
happiness  of  the  smallest  family  requires  a  head. 
And  any  number  of  families,  associated  for  purposes 


8 

mutually  beneficial,  must  have  somewhere,  a  foun- 
tain of  authority  spreading  abroad  streams  of  benign 
influence  over  the  whole  field  of  their  common  oc- 
cupations and  interests.  Nor  is  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, essential  to  the  validity  of  its  claims  to  re- 
spect. God  once  condescended  to  place  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  particular  nation — to  frame  their  laws, 
and  direct  their  execution — to  create  subordinate 
offices,  and  designate  the  individuals  to  fill  them — 
to  reveal  himself  through  the  Shekinah,  as  their  Su- 
preme Ruler,  Lawgiver,  and  Judge.  But  when 
they  desired  a  government  like  that  of  the  sur- 
rounding nations,  though  he  relinquished  not  the 
Supreme  Authority,  he  gave  them  a  king,  and  al- 
lowed a  modification  of  laws  and  customs  corres- 
ponding with  the  new  organization.  Hence  it  is 
evident,  that  although  government  itself  is  the  ordi- 
nance of  God,  the  forms  of  its  administration  are 
wholly  circumstantial,  depending  on  the  disposi- 
tions, the  habits,  or  the  convenience  of  the  several 
nations  of  the  earth. 

That  the  powers  of  government  are  not  lodged 
in  some  individuals,  in  preference  to  others,  in  vir- 
tue of  any  personal  and  inherent  right  to  those 
powers,  requires  no  proof.  Hereditary  dignity  and 
authority,  however  existing  in  fact,  are  original 
chimeras,  clothed  in  the  vestments  of  reality,  only 


by  the  spirit  of  pride  and  ambition.  The  choice,  or 
the  consent  at  least,  of  a  community,  can  alone  in- 
vest any  man,  or  any  body  of  men,  with  the  right  of 
framing  and  executing  laws,  bearing  on  the  com- 
mon welfare.  However  this  choice  or  consent  may 
be  ascertained — the  individual  or  individuals  on 
whom  it  falls,  are  to  be  regarded  as  "ordained  of 
God,"  to  the  discharge  of  the  trust  reposed  in 
them  ;  and  this  is  the  strong  foundation  on  which  a 
lawful  right  to  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  gov- 
ernment rests.  "  By  me,  kings  reign,  and  princes 
decree  justice." 

These  powers,  obviously  have  limitations.  There 
is  a  point  beyond  which  man  cannot  go,  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  authority  over  his  fellow-man — a  point, 
where  God  stands,  and  says  to  the  proud  waves  of 
ambition — "hitherto  shall  ye  come,  but  no  further." 
Beyond  this,  all  authority  is  usurpation — resistance 
to  its  claims  becomes  lawful,  and  imperative. 

Man  has  natural  rights,  with  which  no  earthly 
power  may  interfere,  till  they  are  forfeited  by 
crime.  Such  is  his  right  to  life,  limbs,  and  liberty 
— to  the  produce  of  his  personal  labor  and  enter- 
prise, and  to  the  use  of  the  common  elements  of 
nature.  When  the  king  of  Israel,  on  the  day  of 
battle,  forbids  his  people  to  refresh  themselves  with 
food  provided  for  them  by  the  hand  of  Heaven,  and 


10 

proceeds  to  pass  the  sentence  of  death  on  the  un- 
wary transgressor,  he  transcends  his  delegated 
powers,  and  is  lawfully  resisted. 

There  are  matters  of  conscience  too,  involving 
supreme  personal  obligations,  and  not  affecting  the 
interests  of  society,  wherein  all  human  interference 
is  arbitrary  and  unjust.  When  observances  are  re- 
quired, or  indulgences  forbidden  by  the  law  of 
Heaven  written  on  the  heart,  it  is  not  competent  to 
any  earthly  power  to  annul  that  law  ;  and  well  did 
the  Apostles  reply  to  the  orders  of  the  Jewish  ru- 
lers,— "  whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  to 
hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye. 
For  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which  we  have 
seen  and  heard." 

Equally  beyond  the  cognizance  of  human  rulers, 
lie  all  the  great  concerns  of  faith.  "  With  the  heart 
man  believeth," — and  the  heart,  by  whatever  prin- 
ciples its  movements  may  be  regulated,  comes  not 
within  the  range  of  physical  and  coercive  power  ; 
nor  are  its  actings  ever  to  be  controlled  by  other 
than  a  moral  influence,  until  they  encroach  on  the 
natural  rights  of  community.  But,  it  belongs  not 
to  man,  to  dictate  to  his  fellow-man  what  he  shall 
receive  and  what  he  shall  reject,  on  the  great  sub- 
jects of  faith ;  and  the  infatuated  ruler  who  attempts 
to  enforce  uniformity  of  religious  belief  throughout 


11 

his  dominions,  usurps  an  authority  to  which  he  has 
no  right,  and  deserves  a  niche  in  the  same  temple 
of  infamy,  with  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet. 

The  great  objects  of  government,  in  whatever 
form  administered,  are  well  understood  to  be — the 
preservation  of  social  order — the  security  of  life, 
property,  and  liberty — and  the  advancement  of 
society  in  all  those  arts  and  sciences,  which  may 
contribute  to  its  improvement  and  happiness. 

"Order  is  Heaven's  first  law."  "Honor  to 
whom  honor,  fear  to  whom  fear."  Distinctions 
are  established  by  the  providence  of  God,  and 
sanctioned  by  his  word,  which  are  neither  to  be 
overlooked,  nor  condemned  as  invidious  or  unjust. 
Let  the  members  of  human  society  be  classified  and 
distinguished  as  they  may,  they  form  but  one  body  ; 
and  though  all  the  members  have  not  the  same  of- 
fice, yet  they  sustain  those  mutual  relations,  which 
involve  each  individual  in  obligation  to  consult  and 
promote  the  happiness  of  the  whole.  Who  hath 
given  to  some  men  five  talents,  and  to  others  one  ? 
Or  who  hath  given  largeness  of  heart,  expansion  of 
mind,  and  skilfulness  of  hand  to  some,  and  left  to 
others  the  unenvied  inheritance  of  physical  or  intel- 
lectual imbecility  ?  Is  it  not  the  Creator  of  all 
men  1  And,  who  shall  complain  of  His  ordinances, 
or  accuse  Him  of  partiality  and  injustice  as  though 


12 

he  were  a  "respecter  of  persons"  ?  They  are  dis- 
tinctions, it  must  be  confessed,  which,  like  the  infe- 
rior distinctions  of  property  and  station,  not  unfre- 
quently  furnish  the  occasion  of  envy  and  discontent ; 
but  where  lies  the  blame  of  unhallowed  passions 
like  these,  and  the  violent  proceedings  they  some- 
times originate  ?  If  not  in  the  author  of  these  dis- 
tinctions— nor  in  the  possessors  of  them,  it  will  be 
found  in  the  wide  spread  spirit  of  pride  that  ex- 
claims, "  I  know  not  the  Lord,  nor  will  I  obey 
Him." 

The  way  to  eminence  is  open  to  all  :     Of  the  va- 
rious difficulties  that  crowd  its  ascent,  none  are  in- 
surmountable to  patient  industry,  scrupulous  integ- 
rity,   and   fixed  resolution.        The   violence,    that 
would  strip  the  man  of  wealth  of  all  the  fruits  of 
lawful  enterprise,  and  scatter  them  promiscuously 
among  the  crowd  of  self-impoverished  and  self-de- 
graded   citizens — or  turn  the  man  of  intellectual 
power  from  some  dignified  station,  that  the  imbecile 
and  witless  demagogue  might  fill  it — or  tarnish  the 
fame  and  blast  the  prospects  of  the   high-minded 
patriot,  and  devoted  friend  of  rational  liberty,  that 
the  libertine  might  riot  on  the  spoils  of  office,  and 
encourage  the  spirit  of  universal  cupidity  and  licen- 
tiousness, is  equally  inconsistent  with  every  obliga- 
tion that  binds  man  to  consult  his  own  interest,  the 


13 

happiness  of  his  country,  and  the  glory  of  his 
Maker.  And  hence,  the  duty  of  government,  to 
defend  alike  the  rights  of  all — to  protect  the  poor 
against  the  oppressions  of  the  rich — the  rich  against 
the  groundless  claims  of  the  poor — the  weak  against 
the  encroachments  of  the  mighty,  and  the  mighty 
against  the  secret  combinations  and  loud  clamors  of 
the  weak. 

And  when  that  social  order  which  Heaven  has 
established  and  recognized  so  distinctly,  is  steadily 
maintained,  peace  sheds  her  balmy  influence  over 
the  individual  mind,  the  family  circle,  the  Common- 
wealth, the  whole  land.  Every  man  sits  quietly 
under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree — gathers  his  chil- 
dren around  him  and  rejoices  in  their  smiles — 
mingles  with  his  neighbors,  and  sweetly  sympathi- 
zes in  all  their  joys  and  sorrows — looks  abroad  upon 
his  country,  and  thanks  Heaven  for  its  prosperity, 
while  his  patriotic  heart  exults  in  its  glorious  pros- 
pects. But  to  the  production  and  diffusion  of  pleas- 
ures like  these,  laws  founded  in  equity  must  be 
framed,  and  executed  with  firmness  and  imparti- 
ality. 

And  equally  cogent  are  the  claims  of  the  citizen 
on  the  government,  for  the  preservation  of  peace 
with  other  nations.     The  precept  of  divine  benevo- 
lence— "  if  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you, 
2 


14 

live  peaceably  with  all  men,"  is  not  more  obligato- 
ry on  the  private  individual  than  upon  the  ruler  ; 
for  the  expenditures  of  treasure,  life,  and  moral  vir- 
tue, involved  in  wars  of  ambition,  conquest  or  re- 
venge are  hardly  more  compatible  with  the  genius 
of  Christianity,  than  with  the  immediate  interest  of 
the  State  ;  and  the  day  when  the  noise  of  the  battle 
and  the  warrior  shall  cease,  is  not  more  the  delight- 
ful theme  of  prophetic  annunciation,  than  the  object 
of  hope  and  fervent  desire,  to  every  friend  of  ration- 
al liberty.  And  while  government  refrains  from 
too  lofty  pretensions,  and  from  all  injurious  claims 
on  foreign  powers,  and  perseveres  in  holding  high 
and  honorable  intercourse  with  them,  based  on  the 
principles  of  truth  and  equity,  an  appeal  to  arms 
will  rarely,  perhaps  never  be  found  necessary,  and 
differences  when  they  arise,  will  be  promptly,  ad- 
justed by  amicable  negotiation.  If  war,  as  it  is 
sometimes  said,  be  the  safety  valve  of  a  nation,  let- 
ting off  the  redundant  mass  of  turbulent  passion — 
or,  if  it  be  a  necessary  evil,  like  the  volcano,  giving 
vent  to  earth's  internal  fires,  and  heaving  forth  upon 
its  surface  the  fountains  of  burning  lava,  that  other- 
wise would  convulse  the  world — still  it  must  be 
confessed,  that  it  pours  forth  in  all  directions, 
streams  of  unmingled  bitterness  and  woe,  withering 
the  hopes  of  families — annihilating  the  accumulated 


resources  of  ages — prematurely  transferring  thou- 
sands of  immortals  from  scenes  of  privilege  and 
hope,  to  the  retributions  of  eternity.  And  is  this  a 
nation's  safety  valve  ?  What  then  I  ask,  is  a  na- 
tion's destruction  !  Is  man's  depravity  so  deep,  so 
dark,  so  furious  too,  that  nothing  can  prevent  its 
overflow  to  the  world's  ruin,  except  a  license  to 
"kill,  plunder  and  destroy"  his  fellow-men  at  his 
pleasure  ?  And  is  this  the  strong  argument  that 
justifies  the  wholesale  butchery  of  unoffending  indi- 
viduals— and  the  thousands  of  exterminating  wars 
that  stain  the  broad  page  of  man's  history  ?  Far 
better  aim  at  the  wider  diffusion  and  the  firmer  es- 
tablishment of  those  principles  of  peace  and  frater- 
nal love,  which  strongly  mark  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
Give  to  a  nation  the  spirit  that  breathes  "peace 
on  earth  and  good  will  to  men" — throw  abroad  that 
all-penetrating  moral  influence  which  flows  from  the 
respect  of  rulers  for  the  institutions  of  religion ;  and 
discountenance  infidelity,  both  in  -high  places  and 
low,  with  the  whole  train  of  its  legitimate  offspring, 
— ungoverned  passion,  reckless  vice,  and  heaven 
daring  crime, — and  we  have  security  enough  against 
all  the  evils  for  which  war  is  the  sovereign  remedy. 
Let  the  Gospel  triumph,  and  the  scourge  of  legal- 
ized murder  will  be  no  longer  necessary  to  keep  the 
world  in  order. 


16 

It  is  the  province  of  rulers  to  throw  around  hu- 
man life  an  effectual  guardianship  against  treachery 
and  violence,  and  to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  the 
law  of  Heaven,  which  declares,  that  "  whoso  shed- 
deth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed." 
It  is  difficult  indeed  to  conceive  how  a  beneficent 
government  can  be  maintained  at  all,  or  at  least 
how  the  great  ends  of  it  can  be  secured,  without  the 
infliction  of  the  penalty,  that  God  in  his  wisdom  and 
goodness  so  early  established,  for  the  protection  of 
society.  The  inhuman  and  barbarous  modes  of  its 
execution,  often  adopted  in  the  spirit  of  revenge, 
may  admit  neither  of  excuse  nor  apology — but  the 
sacrifice  of  "  life  for  life"  in  the  case  of  him  who 
spills  the  blood  of  his  fellow-man,  is  a  duty  clearly 
indicated  by  the  fact,  that  "skin  for  skin,  yea,  all 
that  a  man  hath,  will  he  give  for  his  life." 

And  what  citizen  has  not  a  right  to  the  protec- 
tion of  his  property,  whether  acquired  by  personal 
industry  and  enterprise,  or  derived  from  his  ances- 
tors, or  thrown  into  his  possession  by  any  other 
providential  arrangement  ?  Such  protection  is  not 
more  necessary  to  his  individual  prosperity,  than  to 
that  increase  of  production  demanded  by  the  wants 
of  a  growing  population,  and  to  the  securing  of  those 
conveniences  of  life,  without  which  many  of  life's 
great  ends  would  be  unattained.  Leave  property 


17 

insecure,  and  incitements  to  industry  and  economy 
are   removed — idleness   prevails,    or   extravagance 
abounds— poverty  follows,  and  tumults  and  blood- 
shed close  the  scene.     Throw  open  to  community 
the  possessions  of  those  whose  frugality  and  toil 
have  resulted  in  large  accumulations,  and  that  com- 
munity is  soon  reduced  to  abject  pauperism ;  for 
men  who  have  neither  the  patience  nor  the  wit  to 
acquire   property   honestly  in  a  land  of  freedom, 
clearly  have  not  the  discretion  to  expend  the  accu- 
mulations of  others  profitably.    Hence  the  impolicy, 
not  to  say  the  injustice,  of  giving  to  those  who  have 
neither  the  skill  nor  the  moral  virtue  necessary  to 
the  acquisition  of  property,  the  power  of  disposing 
of  the  property  of  others  at  their  pleasure  through 
the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise — an  impolicy 
scarcely  less  palpable,  or  less  injurious  in  its  ulti- 
mate effects  on  society,  than  that  of  surrendering  all 
the  rights  of  property  into  the  hands  of  a  Turkish 
Pasha,  or  his  mercenary  Aga. 

Nor  less  to  be  doubted  is  the  right  of  every  citi- 
zen to  the  enjoyment  of  personal  liberty.  What- 
ever his  rank,  property,  education,  complexion,  or 
moral  character  even,  he  may  justly  claim  from  goy- 
ernment  the  protection  of  his  liberty,  as  an  original 
gift  of  Heaven.  It  is  a  natural  right — of  which  no 

power  can  deprive  him — to  dispose  of  himself  and 
2* 


18 

of  all  that  pertains  to  him,  as  he  pleases.  Upon 
this  right,  there  is  but  one  simple  restriction — he 
may  not  use  his  liberty  to  the  injury  of  others — a 
restriction  essential  to  the  very  existence  of  govern- 
ment, and  to  which  every  good  citizen  cheerfully 
submits.  The  thief,  the  burglar,  and  the  assassin 
forfeit  their  natural  right  into  the  hands  of  commu- 
nity, on  the  principle  that  the  common  interest  is 
put  in  jeopardy  by  the  unconfined  range  of  the  law- 
less aggressor.  But  even  in  this  case,  liberty  is  not 
destroyed,  and  is  only  placed  under  sufficient  re- 
straint, to  prevent  its  abuse,  and  hold  in  check  its 
tendencies  to  disorganization  and  licentiousness. 

"Civil  liberty,"  says  Paley,  "is  the  not  being 
restrained  by  any  law,  but  what  conduces  in  a 
greater  degree  to  the  public  welfare."  Consistently 
with  this,  the  criminal  may  be  chained,  and  the  ma- 
niac confined,  without  the  violation  of  any  natural 
right.  How  far  the  public  good  may  require  the  in- 
carceration of  the  debtor,  has  been  made  a  very  grave 
question, — and  to  the  decision  of  it  by  past  genera- 
tions, there  are  strong  reasons  for  demur  ;  for  if 
unavoidable  misfortune,  or  mere  weakness,  whether 
physical  or  intellectual,  have  rendered  him  unable 
to  meet  the  just  demands  made  upon  him,  it  must 
be  a  singular  interpretation  of  the  great  law  of  love 
which  calls  for  his  confinement  in  the  cell  of  the 


19 

criminal.  But  if  by  fraud,  or  premeditated  villany 
he  has  wronged  others  of  their  just  claims,  he  ranks 
no  longer  with  the  sons  of  misfortune,  but  with  the 
perpetrators  of  crime — and  let  no  one  stay  him  on 
the  way  to  his  own  place.  Far  different  from  this, 
is  the  condition  of  those  who  are  condemned  for  life 
to  involuntary  servitude,  for  no  crime  of  their  own 
— or  for  none  other  than  inheriting  a  skin  of  darker 
hue  than  their  fellows — or  deriving  their  birth  from 
an  ancestry  forced  into  bondage  by  the  arm  of  arbi- 
trary power.  What  law  of  love  or  of  justice  sanc- 
tions the  holding  of  the  innocent  under  iron  bonds — or 
gives  to  man  a  property  in  his  fellow-man — or  with- 
holds from  one  possessing  the  principle  of  immortal- 
ity, the  rights  and  privileges  inherent  in  our  exalted 
nature  ?  Liberty  ! — it  is  man's  birthright — never  to 
be  wrested  from  him  by  the  hand  of  the  steel-clad 
despot,  nor  by  the  avarice  of  the  boastful  republican, 
without  an  invasion  of  those  laws  of  Heaven,  on 
whose  maintenance  depends  the  whole  security  of 
society.  Its  usurpation  involves  the  denial  of  man's 
most  perfect  rights — his  right  to  the  acquisition  of 
property — his  right  to  the  cultivation  of  his  intel- 
lectual powers — his  right  to  the  utmost  improve- 
ment of  his  moral  susceptibilities ;  it  cuts  the  sin- 
ews of  honorable  effort  ;  it  lays  the  axe  at  the  root 
of  laudable  emulation  and  enterprise  ;  it  reduces 


20 

man,  with  all  his  noble  powers  and  lofty  aspirings, 
to  a  mere  automaton — or  a  machine  whose  springs 
and  wheels  move  only  at  the  touch  of  its  capricious 
proprietor — or  else,  it  drives  him,  as  the  mighty 
king  of  Babylon  was  driven  by  the  Almighty  Sov- 
ereign, to  graze  with  oxen,  and  participate  in  expo- 
sures and  degradation  too,  with  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
and  the  beasts  of  the  field  ! 

"  Liberty  ! 

"  Companion  of  religion  !  where  she  came 
"There  freedom  came;  where  dwelt,  there  freedom  dwelt, 
"  Ruled  where  she  ruled,  expired  where  she  expired." 

Among  the  subordinate  duties  pertaining  to  Chris- 
tian legislation,  none  stands  forth  more  prominently, 
nor  is  more  intimately  connected  with  the  welfare 
of  society,  than  that  of  providing  all  requisite  facili- 
ties for  the  wide  diffusion  of  common  and  classical 
education.    Plutarch  tell  us,  that  Lycurgus  resolved 
the  whole  business  of  legislation  into  the  bringing 
up  of  youth.     And  says  a  modern  writer  of  distinc- 
tion— "  It   is   not   the   republican   governments   of 
Greece,  nor  the  brief  and  fleeting  period  of  Grecian 
liberty — it  is  not  the  universal  empire  of  Macedon, 
which  was  but  of  short  duration — it  is  not  these 
which  mark  out  the  place  that  Greece  occupies  in 
the  whole  of  universal  history,  nor  the  mighty  and 
important  part  she  has  had  in  the  civilization  of  man- 


21 

kind.  The  share  allotted  to  her,  was  the  light  of 
science,  in  its  most  ample  extent,  and  in  all  the 
clear  brilliance  of  exposure,  which  it  could  derive 
from  art.  It  is  in  this  intellectual  sphere  only,  that 
the  Greeks  have  been  gifted  with  extraordinary 
power,  and  have  exerted  a  mighty  influence  on  after 
ages.*"  And  it  was  scarcely  a  more  admirable  sen- 
timent, uttered  by  a  late  king  of  England,  that 
every  subject  in  his  dominions  must  possess  a  bible, 
than  that  of  the  reigning  prince  of  Prussia,  that 
every  child  in  his  kingdom  must  be  taught  how  to 
read : — a  wise  and  magnanimous  policy,  whether 
regarded  in  its  bearings  on  individual  welfare,  or 
national  honor  and  prosperity  !  But,  if  adopted  by 
those  who  talk  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and  who 
claim  an  hereditary  right  to  power — why  should  it 
ever  be  contemned  by  those  who  boast  loudly  of  ra- 
tional liberty  and  equal  rights  ?  Ignorance  has  no 
more  claim  to  the  maternity  of  order,  peace,  and 
civil  liberty,  than  of  devotion,  and  consists  as  little 
with  the  welfare  of  the  State,  as  with  the  interests 
of  religion.  An  absolute  government,  whose  exis- 
tence depends  on  the  unity  and  decision  of  its  coun- 
sels, on  the  secrecy  and  despatch  of  its  measures, 
or  on  military  skill  and  energy,  may  prosper  best, 
for  aught  that  we  can  tell,  amid  the  marshes  of  ig- 

*  Schle-el. 


22 
\ 

norance,  teeming  with  the  miasma  of  servility,  cor- 
ruption, and  vice,  and  spreading  contagion  and 
death  over  all  that  is  .elevated  in  moral  sentiment, 
and  noble  in  intellectual  character,  or  dignified  and 
tender  in  cultivated  social  affection.  But  in  a  re- 
public like  our  own,  where  talent,  public  spirit  and 
virtuous  enterprise  form  the  main  pillars  of  social 
prosperity,  ignorance  should  meet  no  toleration  ; — 
it  is  an  enemy  to  our  institutions,  that  must  be  con- 
quered by  the  force  of  purified  public  sentiment, 
and  driven  into  exile  by  legislative  enactments.  It 
was  well  said  by  William  Penn,  on  the  subject  of 
the  education  of  the  young, — "for  their  learning  be 
liberal — spare  no  cost ;  for  by  parsimony  here,  all 
that  is  saved  is  lost." .  Happy  had  it  been  for  the 
State  that  bears  his  name,  and  for  the  country  too, 
had  this  wise  counsel  been  regarded.  And  it  is  not 
a  boastful  but  a  natural  inquiry,  what  gives  to  New 
England  and  the  few  States  that  have  drawn  largely 
upon  her  population,  their  acknowledged  preemi- 
nence in  commercial  enterprise  and  in  public  mor- 
als, among  the  great  sisterhood  of  American  Re- 
publics ?  It  is  not  the  fertility  of  their  soil,  nor  the 
abundance  of  their  wealth,  nor  their  superiority  of 
talent,  nor  their  excessive  thirst  for  accumulation — 
but  the  force  of  one  simple  principle  cherished  by 
our  fathers  and  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  their  off- 


23 

spring,  viz. :  That  education  must  be  diffused  co- 
extensively  with  the  field  of  mind,  and  that  the 
combined  energies  of  the  community  are  to  be  di- 
rected to  its  support  as  the  main  bulwark  of  vir- 
tuous sentiment  and  religious  principle — of  free  in- 
stitutions and  enlightened  administration  of  law. 
Blessed  be  the  memory  of  the  educated  fathers  of 
New  England  ! 

But  if  common  schools  demand  the  patronage  of 
government,  because  of  their  powerful  bearing  on 
our  great  public  interests,  can  our  higher  semina- 
ries of  learning  be  denied  it  ?  These  are  the  living 
fountains  that  pour  forth  their  fertilizing  streams 
over  the  whole  plain  covered  with  the  rising  plants 
of  genius,  destined  either  to  flourish  or  decay, — to 
disappoint  a  thousand  hopes,  or  bring  forth  fruit  in 
rich  luxuriance  for  the  refreshment  of  future  gener- 
ations, according  to  the  culture  they  receive.  Shall 
they  become  "  as  a  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain 
sealed,"  for  want  of  legislative  encouragement  ? 
If  the  Egyptian  would  irrigate  his  grounds,  he 
not  only  prepares  their  surface,  but  digs  his  canals, 
and  then  watches  the  floating  clouds  as  they  are 
borne  along  toward  the  distant  summits  of  Atlas, 
where  they  discharge  their  treasures,  for  the  supply 
of  the  mighty  river,  whose  waters  convey  fertility  to 
the  soil,  with  sustenance  and  gladness  to  its  swarm- 


24 

ing  population.  And  if  the  patriot  would  enrich  the 
whole  ground  consecrated  to  liberty  and  religion, 
with  common  school  instruction,  let  him  not  only 
prepare  the  surface  of  the  wide  field  before  him, 
and  cut  the  channels  through  which  the  fertilizing 
streams  may  be  conducted  over  it,  but  let  him 
watch  the  sun-lit  clouds  of  science  as  they  float 
above  him,  and  gather  over  the  distant  hills, 
thence  to  pour  their  treasures  upon  the  vales 
below,  through  the  channel  of  that  mighty  river 
which  makes  glad  the  city  of  our  God.  Our  Col- 
leges form  the  Atlas  of  our  intellectual  world — and 
from  them  alone  can  flow  the  pure  waters  that  are 
necessary  to  replenish  our  smaller  streams,  and  fill 
our  cisterns,  and  mature  our  harvests,  and  realize 
the  patriot's  most  ardent  wishes.  They  are  the 
fountains  of  public  health — of  high  moral  influence 
— and  of  universal  improvement.  Their  power  upon 
public  sentiment  is  gentle  and  penetrating  as  that 
of  "  the  dew  on  the  tender  herb,  and  the  showers 
upon  the  grass."  So  far  from  being  the  miserly 
hoarders  of  knowledge,  they  are  its  cheerful  almo- 
ners, supplying  the  means  of  wealth,  honor  and 
usefulness,  not  to  a  favored  few,  but  to  all  without 
distinction  who  are  willing  to  accept  them.  To 
them  alone,  can  we  look  with  confidence  for  those 
supplies  of  extended  and  well-adapted  instruction, 


25 

which  the  necessities  of  the  whole  rising  generation 
demand — and  in  them  alone  is  the  power  lodged, 
that  can  draw  forth  fully  the  resources  of  those 
young  minds  of  special  promise,  whose  develope- 
ments  under  primary  instruction,  evince  their  sus- 
ceptibility of  an  enlargement  and  polish,  which  will 
render  them  the  lights  of  the  world.  And  may 
they  not  justly  claim  so  much  'encouragement  from 
a  high-minded  government,  as  shall  place  them  be- 
yond the  reach  of  unfavorable  contingencies,  and 
enable  them  to  present  the  strongest  inducements 
to  every  young  and  aspiring  mind  to  accept  the 
boon  of  a  liberal  and  thorough  education  ?  But 
while  dependant  on  resources  derived  from  individ- 
ual benefactions — resources  of  course  inadequate  to 
meet  the  enlarged  expenditures  required  by  the 
magnitude  of  their  object,  and  while,  for  any  cause, 
denied  the  aid  which  the  public  at  large  might  easi- 
ly afford  them — the  advantages  they  proffer  to  the 
acceptance  of  all,  are  actually  enjoyed  by  few,  ex- 
cept the  sons  of  opulence,  or  the  beneficiaries  of 
some  charitable  institution.  If  it  was  little  to  the 
honor  of  James  the  First,  that  he  left  the  instructor 
of  his  youth — the  most  accomplished  scholar  and 
poet  of  his  age,  to  die  in  penury,  and  be  buried  at 
the  public  charge — sure  we  are,  that  the  magnani- 
mous and  patriotic  citizens  of  this  republic,  will  not 
3 


26 

expose  themselves  to  the  dishonor  of  leaving  those 
literary  institutions  which  form  the  brightest  glory 
of  the  land,  the  bulwarks  of  freedom,  the  hope  of 
the  world,  to  beg  their  bread  from  door  to  door,  nor 
leave  them  to  die,  without  even  the  poor  chance  of 
a  decent  burial  at  public  charges. 

But  if  community  has  these  fair  claims  on  "  the 
powers  that  are  ordained  of  God,"  let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  correlative  obligations  rest  on  those  who 
share  the  'blessings  of  an  equitable  government, 
while  exonerated  from  its  toils  and  responsibilities. 
"  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  pow- 
ers." "  Render  to  Cesar  the  things  that  are  Ce- 
sar's." 

It  is  the  will  of  God  that  rulers  be  HONORED. 
Respect  is  due  to  them  as  the  representatives  of 
Him  by  whose  providence  they  are  elevated  to  offi- 
cial station.  Their  deficiences  may  be  many  and 
obvious — their  political  opinions  may  be  false  and  in- 
jurious to  the  public  interest — and  even  their  moral 
delinquencies  may  be  numerous  and  startling  ;  yet 
I  know  not  where  the  word  of  God  permits  us  to 
"  curse  the  ruler  of  the  people,"  or  pour  upon  him 
the  contempt,  to  which  as  a  private  individual,  he 
may  be  fairly  entitled.  In  a  free  and  popular  gov- 
ernment like  our  own,  there  is  no  escape  from  the 
collisions  of  party  ;  and  no  man  is  so  unblemished, 


27 

that  in  envy's  eye,  he  may  not  appear  deep  scarred 
with  some  moral  leprosy.  The  spirit  of  party, 
though  powerless  to  convert  stones  into  gold,  can 
readily  transmute  virtue  into  vice,  and  patriotic  de- 
votion into  political  delinquency  !  A  species  of 
alchymy,  worthy  of  the  Prince  of  Sorcerers  !  Under 
the  influence  of  this  spirit,  no  name  is  too  illustrious 
to  be  tarnished,  and  no  patriotism  too  pure  to  be 
covered  with  obloquy.  It  dooms  Miltiades  the  hero 
of  Marathon,  to  perish  in  prison  of  the  wounds  re- 
ceived in  defence  of  his  country's  independence. 
It  condemns  Aristides  the  just,  and  Cimon  the 
brave,  to  the  ostracism.  It  consigns  Herodotus 
and  Thucydides — men  who  will  be  honored  for  el- 
oquence and  patriotism  while  the  world  stands,  to 
an  ignominious  and  fatal  exile.  Nor  can  Themisto- 
cles  the  Washington  of  Athens,  escape  the  storm  of 
popular  fury,  except  by  flight  to  a  foreign  court ; 
nor  Socrates,  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  Athenians, 
the  warm-hearted  friend  of  his  country  and  of  man 
— avoid  the  poisoned  chalice.  There  is  no  con- 
ceivable injustice  that  in  one  period  of  the  world  or 
another,  has  not  fallen  upon  "the  powers  that  were 
ordained  of  God,"  even  when  elevated  by  the  voice 
of  their  fellow-citizens  to  rank  and  authority. 

The  claims  of  rulers  to  confidence  and  esteem, 
are  by  no  means  to  be  put  beyond  the  reach  of  fair 


28 

discussion  ;  yet  they  are  to  be  canvassed  in  the 
spirit  which  sets  down  nought  in  malice.  Virtue 
walks  hand  in  hand  with  imperfection  here,  nor  is 
unmingled  excellence  to  be  found  on  this  side 
heaven.  But,  wherever  strength  of  intellect,  and 
love  of  country  are  combined  with  the  fear  of  God, 
the  grand  elements  of  an  efficient  magistracy  are 
not  wanting. 

The  reputation  of  rulers  is  to  themselves,  a  gem 
of  surpassing  value,  and  forms  the  best  inheritance 
they  can  bequeath  to  posterity. 

"That  away, 
They  are  but  loam,  or  painted  clay." 

It   is  the  property   of  the  public  too — the  heir- 
loom treasure  of  the  country,  descending  from  gen- 
eration  to   generation,   acquiring   fresh   value,   as 
years  roll  on,  down  to  the  end  of  time.     And  if 
there  be  any  thing  that  can  undermine  the  founda- 
tions of  our  government,  and  prostrate  the  whole 
superstructure,  and  scatter  to  the   winds  of  heaven 
all  the  wise  purposes  and  hallowed  anticipations  of 
our  venerated  fathers,  leaving  our  country  one  wide 
spread  desolation,  as  if  the  waters  of  a  flood  had 
passed  over  it,  it  is  the  unrestrained  indulgence  of 
that  spirit,  which  assails  the  fair  fame  of  the  ruler, 
and  aims  to  pluck  from  his  brow  every  laurel  which 


29 

divine  Providence  has  twined  around  it.  "  The 
Lord  knoweth  how  to  reserve  the  unjust  to  the  day 
of  judgment,  to  be  punished." 

It  is  also  the  will  of  God  that  rulers  be  OBEYED. 
"  Submit  yourselves  to  every  ordinance  of  man,  for 
the  Lord's  sake,  whether  it  be  to  the  king  as  su- 
preme, or  unto  governors  that  are  sent  by  Him  for 
the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  and  for  the  praise  of 
them  that  do  well."  Even  a  heathen  could  say — 
"  next  to  the  Gods,  the  highest  reverence  is  due  to 
parents  and  legislators  ;  and  the  laws  and  customs 
of  our  country,  are  to  be  religiously  observed."  It 
is  not  possible  to  frame  laws  for  millions,  which 
shall  interfere  with  the  imperfect  rights  of  none, 
and  conflict  with  no  real  or  imaginary  interests  of 
individuals.  It  is  enough  that  they  are  framed  for 
the  public  good,  that  they  harmonize  in  principle 
with  the  law  of  God,  and  operate  happily  on  the  in- 
terests of  community  at  large.  They  then  deserve 
universal  acquiescence  and  obedience,  unless  it  be 
contended,  that  the  general  welfare  ought  to  be 
sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  private  interest.  But  shall 
intemperance,  theatrical  amusements,  gaming,  and 
other  kindred  vices,  be  sanctioned  by  law,  in  defer- 
ence to  the  imaginary  interests  of  the  few  who  have 
their  wealth  by  them,  when  they  threaten  the  whole 
land  with  moral  desolation  ?  Shall  the  traffic  in 
3* 


the  bone  and  muscle  of  immortal  man  be  permitted, 
because  its  interdiction  may  involve  temporary  loss 
or  embarrassment  to  individuals,  and  compel  them 
to  exchange  an  infamous  for  an  honorable  occupa- 
tion ?  "I  trow  not." 

And,  in  a  government  like  ours,  dependent  under 
God,  on  the  sovereign  will  of  the  people,  it  may  be 
a  fair  question,  whether  even  the  enactment  of  un- 
just laws,  will  justify  opposition  unto  blood  ?  The 
eternal  principles  of  justice  are  indeed  to  be  main- 
tained ;  but  how  ? — by  the  sword — or  by  an  appeal 
to  public  conscience  ? — by  open  and  revengeful  re- 
bellion— or  by  dispassionate  argument,  and  the 
whole  array  of  moral  influences,  within  the  reach  of 
an  intelligent  people  ?  If  I  mistake  not,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  persecuted  David  is  in  keeping  with 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  and  patriotism — "  the  Lord 
forbid  that  I  should  do  any  thing  unto  my  master, 
the  Lord's  anointed — to  stretch  forth  my  hand 
against  him,  seeing  he  is  the  Lord's  anointed." 
Nor  is  the  wisdom  of  man  sufficient  to  frame  laws 
adapted  to  all  the  exigencies  of  the  State.  And 
the  only  remedy  for  a  thousand  evils  in  society, 
which  lo\v  cannot  reach,  is  to  be  found  in  the  indi- 
vidual application  of  those  general  principles  of  law, 
which  are  engraven  on  the  heart,  and  pencilled  in 


31 

sun-beams  on  the  pages  of  inspiration.     Here  lies 
the  strong  safeguard  of  every  community. 

But  upon  the  principle  that  no  law  can  claim 
obedience,  which  conflicts  with  individual  opinion 
or  interest,  how  can  the  evils  of  universal  anarchy 
and  confusion  be  avoided  ?  How  can  the  lawless 
proceedings  of  an  infuriated  populace  be  stayed  ? — 
How  shall  the  ruthless  pillager  of  property,  or  the 
reckless  incendiary,  or  the  bloody  assassin  be  re- 
strained ?  If  law,  emanating  from  "  the  powers 
that  be,"  be  not  acknowledged,  and  if  every  man 
may  assume  the  prerogative  of  deciding  for  himself, 
whether  it  shall  be  obeyed, — the  pillars  of  govern- 
ment are  shaken  to  their  fall,  and  its  sacred  enclo- 
sures are  thrown  open  to  the  entrance  of  licentious- 
ness, with  all  its  attendant  "  plagues  and  torments 
dire."  That  such  a  spirit  is  abroad,  looking  con- 
tempt on  law  and  demanding  its  prostration,  cannot 
be  denied.  And  its  suppression  is  demanded  by 
every  consideration  of  religion  and  humanity.  That 
suppression  can  be  effected  only  by  the  indignant 
frowns  of  a  virtuous  and  injured  community — the 
firm  advocacy  of  the  supremacy  of  law  by  every 
friend  of  his  country — the  earnest  inculcation  of  the 
duty  of  subjection  to  principalities  and  powers,  and 
obedience  to  magistrates,  by  the  ministers  of  our 
holy  religion — and  the  strong-handed  exercise  of 


authority  by  those  to  whom  Heaven  has  committed 
the  administration  of  justice,  and  the  protection  of 
the  social  interests. 

It  is  the  will  of  God,  that  rulers  be  made  the  sub- 
jects of  continual  PRAYER.  "  I  exhort,  saith  an 
Apostle,  that  supplications  be  made — for  kings,  and 
for  all  that  are  in  authority  ;"  why  ? — "  That  we 
may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life,  in  all  godliness 
and  honesty."  Allowing  them  large  measures  of 
wisdom,  virtue,  and  patriotism,  they  are  still  liable 
to  error  in  judgment  and  in  conduct,  and  need  the 
direction  of  the  eternal  Spirit.  The  more  elevated 
their  station,  and  the  more  commanding  their  influ- 
ence, the  greater  is  their  exposure  to  the  assaults 
of  unworthy  aspirants  to  the  honors  and  emoluments 
of  office,  and  the  more  pressing  the  dangers  arising 
from  their  own  imperfections.  How  shall  prejudice 
and  prepossession  be  barred  out  from  the  council 
chamber,  or  the  legislative  hall, — how  shall  partiali- 
ty for  some  unworthy-policy,  and  for  private  and  local 
interests,  injuriously  affecting  the  public  welfare,  be 
excluded  from  the  deliberations  of  the  most  wise 
and  patriotic  rulers,  so  long  as  they  partake  of  the 
common  infirmities  of  our  nature  ?  Their  only  se 
curity,  is  in  the  favor  of  God.  "  The  king's  heart 
is  in  his  hand,  and  he  turneth  it  as  the  rivers  of 
water  are  turned."  He  hears  prayer  also.  And 


33 

t;  if  any  man  lack  wisdom" — and  by  parity  of  reas- 
oning, if  he  lack  any  other  important  qualification 
of  a  good  ruler — "  let  him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth 
liberally  and  upbraideth  not."  If  the  wisest  of  the 
kings  of  Israel,  on  his  accession  to  power,  was  im- 
pelled by  conscious  weakness  to  implore  divine  di- 
rection : — If  Washington  was  found  on  his  knees 
while  preparing  for  a  battle  that  involved  the 
dearest  interests  of  his  country  ;  and  if  the  as- 
sembled sovereigns  of  Europe,  on  the  eve  of  a  con- 
flict, on  which  hung  the  destinies  of  the  world,  pros- 
trated themselves  before  the  Majesty  of  Heaven — 
it  will  not  be  regarded  as  unbecoming  others  of  ele- 
vated station  to  imitate  their  example,  nor  unbe- 
coming those  who  have  contributed  to  their  eleva- 
tion, to  offer  prayers  to  God,  without  ceasing  for 
them.  Truly  "  this  is  good,  and  acceptable  to 
God." 

Without  exposure  to  the  charge  of  vain  boasting, 
it  may  safely  be  affirmed,  that  God  has  highly  dis- 
tinguished us  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  !  Be- 
hold the  goodly  land  he  hath  given  us — the  varied 
and  propitious  climate  with  which  he  hath  blessed 
us — the  vast  variety  of  production  he  hath  furnished 
us — the  liberal  government  he  hath  set  over  us — 
and  the  able  men  he  hath  raised  up  from  time  to 
time,  to  be  our  governors  and  judges  !  We  sit  un- 


34 

der  our  own  vines  and  fig-trees,  having  none  to  mo- 
lest nor  make  us  afraid.  Our  social  comforts,  who 
can  enumerate  !  Our  literary  privileges  can  hardly 
be  estimated  too  highly — and  our  religious  freedom 
is  a  treasure,  which  the  topaz  of  Ethiopia  nor  the 
gold  of  Ophir  can  equal. 

Still,  our  government,  however  wisely  balanced 
and  happily  adjusted,  is  not  without  its  imperfec- 
tions. Though  well  guarded  against  the  ascenden- 
cy of  undisguised  and  individual  despotism,  it  is  not 
inaccessible  to  the  presumptuous  approaches  of  a 
more  subtle  and  equally  malign  enemy.  What  if 
tyranny  dare  not  expose  the  hideousness  of  its  un- 
covered front  to  the  indignant  eye  of  millions  of 
the  free  and  the  brave — nor  stalk  abroad  at  noon  to 
scatter  the  "  firebrands,  arrows  and  death"  which 
fill  its  magazines — may  it  not  cloak  itself  under  pro- 
fessions of  subserviency  to  the  popular  will,  and 
avail  itself  of  existing  ignorance,  credulity  and  self- 
flattery,  to  reach  the  place  of  power,  where  firmly 
seated,  it  may  throw  off  disguise,  and  revel  in  the 
sufferings  and  tears  of  an  oppressed  nation  ?  But 
the  worst  of  all  tyranny,  is  that  of  the  multitude, 
broken  loose  from  the  restraints  of  law — dead  to  a 
sense  of  moral  obligation — filled  with  infuriated  pas- 
sion, and  urged  on  to  deeds  of  violence,  for  the 
avengement  of  imagined  injuries,  by  the  spirit  of 


35 

desperation.  Compared  with  this,  the  absolute  au- 
thority of  the  Indian  Archipelago  Chief,  or  the 
Turkish  Sultan  is  liberty  itself.  And  has  a  govern- 
ment founded  on  the  popular  will,  and  extending  it- 
self over  a  territory  of  two  million  square  miles,  and 
a  heterogeneous  population  of  fifteen  millions,  doub- 
ling every  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  any  sufficient 
guarantee  in  the  "  wisdom  and  knowledge"  of  the 
people,  for  the  permanency  of  its  free  institutions  ? 
Our  national  character  is  yet  unformed.  Its  ele- 
ments are  in  a  state  of  chaos.  Among  them,  indeed, 
are  the  spirit  and  the  deeds  of  our  puritan  fathers  ; 
but  how  small  a  portion  of  the  crude  mass  of  principles 
influencing  our  whole  population,  is  of  this  Heaven- 
born  origin  !  And  whether  a  pure  and  living  Chris- 
tianity, or  a  dead  and  corrupted  form  of  it— or, 
whether  Heaven-daring  infidelity  and  atheism  shall 
exert  the  preponderating  influence  in  the  formation 
of  our  embryo  character,  is  a  question  yet  to  be  set- 
tled. But  even  now,  to  use  the  language  of  a  dis- 
tinguished civilian,  "  we  see  the  time  when  hoary 
atheists  and  sprigs  of  infidelity  dispose  of  the  bible, 
of  a  future  state,  of  the  power  and  prerogatives,  if 
not  the  very  being  of  a  God,  with  little  difficulty — 
when  the  fomenters  of  anarchy  in  the  State,  when 
the  enemies  of  that  faith  on  which  alike  rests  the 
security  of  civil  society  here,  and  the  hopes  of  indi- 


36 

vidual  happiness  hereafter,  proceed  from  words  to 
deeds."  Yes  !  we  see  it — we  feel  it.  Still,  we 
may  thank  Heaven  and  the  spirit  of  our  pilgrim 
fathers,  that  to-day,  we  have  a  government  of  laws, 
and  not  of  arbitrary  power,  either  in  the  hands  of 
the  one,  or  the  million.  But  I  ask  again — where  is 
our  security  for  its  continuance  ?  Are  not  our  laws 
the  simple  results  of  public  opinion  ?  And  is  not 
public  opinion  liable  to  changes  without  end?  And 
when  it  shall  give  us  a  dictator,  an  emperor,  or  a 
despot — who  can  tell  ?  Paper  constitutions,  courts 
of  justice,  legislative  assemblies,  and  even  proud  na- 
vies and  marshalled  armies,  before  the  breath  of 
popular  opinion,  are  but  as  the  seared  leaves  of  the 
forest  before  the  autumnal  blast.  Individual  and 
public  virtue  alone,  can  supply  to  government  the 
sustaining  and  animating  principle  of  all  its  move- 
ments for  the  public  good — that  virtue  which  shall 
render  every  soul  subject  to  the  higher  powers,  for 
the  reason,  that  "  there  is  no  power  but  of  God, 
and  the  powers  that  be,  are  ordained  of  God." 

Moses  was  a  patriot.  He  feared  not  the  wrath 
of  the  king.  Poverty  and  exile  had  no  terrors  for 
his  large  heart,  when  the  welfare  of  his  nation  was 
at  stake  ;  and  from  duty,  not  even  their  loudest 
murmerings  and  bitterest  reproaches  could  make 
him  shrink.  And  the  time  would  fail  me,  to  tell  of 


37 

Gideon  and  Barak,  and  Sampson  and  Jeptha,  of 
David  also  and  Samuel,  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
and  many  others  famed  in  sacred  story,  whose 
patriotism,  sustained  by  the  love  of  God,  waxed  va- 
liant in  fight,  subdued  kingdoms,  and  turned  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  Neither  the  glitter 
of  wealth  or  fame,  nor  the  stirrings  of  ambition, 
nor  the  lust  of  power  impelled  them  to  deeds  of 
self-sacrificing  heroism — but  it  was  that  pure  devo- 
tion to  the  sacred  interests  of  their  country,  which 
is  enkindled  only  at  the  altars  of  heaven.  And 
when  our  own  rulers  walk  in  their  steps,  and  by  high 
example  induce  the  great  body  of  our  fellow-citizens 
to  follow  them — our  country  is  safe  ! 

But  whence  comes  a  spirit  of  patriotism  thus 
strong  and  unquenchable  ?  Is  it  generated  in  the 
womb  of  man's  fallen  nature,  teeming  with  fierce 
and  selfish  passions — or,  in  the  laboratories  of  boast- 
ed reason,  whence  with  much  that  is  lovely  and  of 
good  report,  all  that  is  absurd  and  contradictory  in 
morals  and  philosophy  issues  to  agitate  and  con- 
vulse the  world  ?  Not  from  either — but  from  those 
revelations  of  God  alone,  which  declare  authorita- 
tively that  no  man  liveth — i.  e.  is  made  to  live,  for 
himself,  but  for  his  country,  and  the  world,  for  Zion 
and  for  Heaven.  Diffuse  every  where  the  hallow- 
ing atmosphere  that  surrounds  the  Bible,  and  give 
4 


free  scope  to  the  mild  genius  of  Christianity,  and 
there  shall  spring  up  on  every  side  the  spirit  of  pat- 
riotism, whose  fires  though  lighted  at  distant  points, 
shall  commingle  and  ascend  in  one  vast  volume  to 
their  common  centre,  the  throne  of  God,  and  bring 
down  on  the  whole  land  blessings  rich  as  heaven, 
and  lasting  as  time. 

Revisit  for  a  moment,  in  imagination,  those  re- 
publics of  antiquity,  whose  fame  has  thrown  its  pale 
radiance,  even  over  the  distant  times  and  regions 
we  occupy.  Where  is  now  their  pristine  splendor  ? 
— Where  the  philosophy,  the  eloquence — the  in- 
domitable energy,  that  characterised  the  days  of 
Thales,  Socrates,  and  Plato  ? — Gone — gone  for- 
ever !  And  wherefore  ? — Their  boasted  love  of 
liberty  degenerated  into  the  spirit  of  faction — the 
disinterestedness  of  their  rulers  gave  way  to  the  as- 
pirings of  ambition — and  the  patriotism  of  the  peo- 
ple fell  prostrate  before  the  altars  of  licentiousness 
and  crime.  They  scourged  their  slaves,  and  put 
them  to  death  at  pleasure.  Debtors  were  delivered 
up  by  courts  to  be  bound  in  chains,  maimed,  tor- 
tured, and  sold  into  bondage  by  their  creditors. 
Captives  of  war  were  doomed  to  perpetual  bondage, 
and  their  children  after  them — or  else,  murdered  in 
cold  blood,  or  reserved  for  the  arena  of  the  Gladia- 
tors. Parents  might  not  know  their  children. 


39 

Children  might  destroy  their  parents ;  and  of  all 
the  ties  of  consanguinity  and  love,  none  were  held 
too  sacred  to  be  sacrificed  at  the  shrines  of  interest 
and  concupiscence.  Such  is  the  testimony  of  un- 
doubted history. 

But  whence  this  degeneracy  ?  Account  for  it 
who  can — on  other  principles  than  those  of  the  Bi- 
ble. "They  liked  not  to  retain  God  in  their  knowl- 
edge," and  boldly  cut  loose  from  their  moorings 
among  the  few  truths  of  the  original  revelation, 
written  on  the  conscience,  and  committed  themselves 
to  the  winds  and  the  waves  of  licentious  speculation, 
and  were  driven  into  the  dark  abyss  of  atheism. 
Men  arose,  claiming  the  dignity  of  philosophers, 
who  maintained,  that  our  own  perceptions  are  the  only 
criterion  of  truth — that  between  virtue  and  vice  there  is 
no  other  distinction  than  what  arises  from  custom,  or 
civil  institutions — that  all  religious  belief  is  worthy  only 
of  rejection — and  other  sophisms  of  similar  character 
— to  which  the  infatuated  multitude  gave  ready  cre- 
dence, for  the  relief  it  furnished  them  from  the  fear 
of  the  gods,  and  for  the  license  it  gave  them,  to  in- 
dulge every  base  and  guilty  passion.  The  univer- 
sal decline  of  morals,  was  but  the  legitimate  and 
unavoidable  consequence  of  the  diffusion  of  this  free- 
thinking  spirit.  All  human  duty  came  to  be  settled 
on  the  sole  ground  of  expediency,  and  it  was  soon 


40 

found  expedient  to  throw  off  all  restraint,  to  trample 
upon  law — to  pay  no  respect  to  rulers,  but  to  load 
them  with  infamy  proportioned  to  their  worth — and 
reward  them  with  ingratitude  proportioned  to  their 
benefactions.  To  this,  succeeded  of  course,  the 
reign  of  lawless  ambition — when  the  spirit  of  con- 
quest seized  alike  the  ruler  and  the  subject — when 
military  glory  presented  resistless  charms  to  the 
public  eye — when  the  greatest  murderer  of  his  spe- 
cies, became  the  greatest  man  of  his  country — when 
all  that  noble  energy  which  is  demanded  to  alleviate 
human  wretchedness  was  wasted  on  the  battle-field 
— and  when,  in  the  absence  of  foreign  enemies, 
neighbor  fought  with  neighbor,  and  brother  spilled 
the  blood  of  brother  !  "It  was"  to  use  the  strong 
language  of  a  modern  philosopher — "  it  was  as  if 
the  iron-footed  god  of  war,  Grandivus,  actually  be- 
strode the  globe,  and  at  every  s.tep,  struck  out  new 
torrents  of  blood  ;  or,  as  if  the  dark  Pluto  had 
emerged  from  the  abyss  of  eternal  night,  escorted 
by  all  the  vengeful  spirits  of  the  lower  world,  by  all 
the  furies  of  passion  and  insatiable  cupidity,  by  the 
blood-thirsty  demons  of  murder,  to  establish  his  vis- 
ible empire,  and  erect  forever  his  throne  on  earth." 
Here,  you  have  disclosed,  both  the  proximate  and 
the  remoter  causes  of  the  downfal  of  the  republics  of 
ancient  times.  And  all  of  them  may  be  summed  up 


41 

in  that  single  fact,  recorded  by  the  Holy  Spirit  al- 
ready quoted, — "  they  liked  not  to  retain  God  in 
their  knowledge." 

And    what   philanthropic   heart  is  not  sickened 
while    looking  abroad  over  the  existing  nations  of 
the  Pagan  world — living  as  they  are  amid  all  the 
terrors  of  despotic  power,  or  the  greater  terrors  of 
lawless  liberty  !     I  pity  the   man,  who  can  glance 
his  eye  across  the  map  of  Africa,  and  reflect  with- 
out thrilling  emotion,  that  from  the  piratical  hordes 
swarming  along  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean, 
down   the  whole  length  of  the   continent,   to  the 
filthy  kraal  of  the  Hottentot,  not  only  the  princi- 
ples but  the  very  names  of  philosophy,  science,  lit- 
erature, and  civil  liberty  are  unknown  ;   and  then, 
if  he  will  turn  to  Asia,  he  shall  see,  from  Java  on 
the  south  to  Nova  Zembla  on  the  north,  from  Pal- 
estine on  the  west  to  the  eastern  verge  of  China, 
the  outstretching  shadows  of  a  dreary  night,  be- 
neath which,  tyranny  grinds  its  hundreds  of  millions 
to  the  dust,  and  through  which  the  strong  lights  of 
liberty   and   righteousness   cannot   penetrate.     No 
where,  throughout  the  world  is  the  spirit  of  freedom 
cherished,  and  the  grand  principle  of  equity  recog- 
nized in  legislation,   except  in  Christendom.     No 
where  else  is  truth  honored  and  error  disgraced — 
virtue  rewarded  and  vice  punished  as  such — power 
4* 


42 

compelled  to  bow  to  right,  and  crime  to  shrink  from 
public,  gaze.  Go  where  you  will — and  if  the  gospel 
of  Christ  has  not  gone  before  you,  you  plunge  into  a 
wilderness  of  woes,  where  the  refined  pleasures  of 
life  are  as  rare  as  the  well-grounded  hopes  of  im- 
mortality— where  scarce  one  principle  of  improve- 
ment survives  the  wreck  of  humanity — where  cruel- 
ty and  lust  mock  the  powers  of  persuasion — baffle 
the  force  of  conscience,  and  riot  on  the  miserable 
relics  of  those  instinctive  desires  of  happiness, 
which  have  survived  man's  original  apostacy. 

Behold  then  the  power — the  only  power  that  can 
perpetuate  the  liberties  of  our  country — ensure  the 
continuance  of  our  free  institutions — preserve  our 
posterity  from  the  yoke  of  the  solitary  despot — ex- 
tract the  fangs  from  that  hundred  headed  monster, 
anarchy,  already  prowling  around  our  borders — and 
give  to  all  future  generations,  the  priceless  privile- 
ges wrested  from  ecclesiastical  usurpation,  and  arbi- 
trary civil  power,  by  the  well  nerved  arms  and  fearless 
spirits  of  our  puritan  fathers.  It  is  CHRISTIANITY 
— that  religion  which  has  come  from  heaven  to 
compassionate  the  woes,  and  heal  the  wounds  of  a 
bleeding  world — which  makes  no  compromise  with 
error  and  vice,  and  sooner  bares  its  bosom  to  the  point 
of  an  enemy's  sword,  than  admits  that  enemy,  unwash- 
ed and  unclothed  in  heavenly  robes,  to  its  embraces. 


43 

In  this  alone  lies  the  security  of  our  present  immu- 
nities, anji  of  all  that  brightens  on  the  eye  in  future 
prospect.  AncTof  this  mighty  and  beneficent  pow- 
er, the  Bible,  the  Sabbath,  and  the  Sanctuary  are 
the  strong  holds.  Thence  it  goes  abroad  to  scatter 
the  blessings  of  peace — to  infuse  the  spirit  of  Heav- 
en into  the  individual  mind — and  arouse  the  nations 
to  deeds  of  mercy  and  of  justice.  And  no  sooner 
are  these  broken  down  by  the  machinations  or  vio- 
lence of  an  ungodly  community,  than  the  shield  of 
Jehovah  is  withdrawn  from  them — storms  of  indig- 
nation gather — the  blast  of  the  Almighty  comes 
over,  and  leaves  amid  the  wreck  of  their  privileges, 
scarce  a  fragment  for  posterity  to  gaze  upon. 

In  the  sentiments  thus  freely  advanced,  I  assure 
myself  of  the  cordial  concurrence  of  the  great  body 
of  my  fellow-citizens — and  especially  of  that  por- 
tion of  them  here  assembled,  to  consult  on  the  de- 
mands of  the  public  interest,  and  to  frame  laws  for 
the  security  of  individual  rights,  and  the  general  wel- 
fare. And  I  gladly  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity 
to  mingle  congratulations  with  those  of  thousands 
throughout  the  Commonwealth,  that  on  the  return 
of  this  auspicious  day  we  are  not  only  cheered  by 
the  recollection  of  the  past  favors  of  Heaven,  but 
animated  by  the  prospect  of  the  continued  adminis- 
tration of  our  government  on  the  tried  and  approved 


44 

principles  of  years  gone  by.  As  we  are  not  of 
those  who  view  "  human  governments  .as  judicial 
punishments,"  but,  in  the  fallen  state  of  man,  as  or- 
dinances exhibiting  most  clearly  the  goodness  of  the 
Supreme  Ruler  of  the  world,  we  do  rejoice,  yea  and 
will  rejoice,  when  in  divine  Providence  they  are 
committed  to  the  hands  of  men,  who  are  a  terror  to 
evil  doers,  and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well.  Such 
men,  it  is  our  happiness  to  believe,  God  has  given 
us,  to  rule  over  us  for  the  year  to  come. 

And  may  I  not  without  presumption,  address  the 
CHIEF  MAGISTRATE  on  this  occasion,  in  the  lan- 
guage— not  in  the  spirit — of  the  Roman  orator — 
"Seeing  that  by  thee  we  enjoy  great  quietness, 
and  that  very  worthy  deeds  are  done  unto  this  peo- 
ple by  thy  providence,  we  accept  it  always,  and  in 
all  places,  with  all  thankfulness."  The  clearness 
with  which  your  Excellency  apprehends  the  princi- 
ples of  just  legislation,  and  your  firmness  in  main- 
taining them — the  support  you  have  uniformly  given 
to  every  laudable  and  patriotic  effort  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  true  interests  of  the  Common- 
wealth and  the  nation — your  industry  and  zeal  in  the 
promotion  of  intellectual  and  moral  improvement — 
and  your  habitual  sacrifice  of  ease  and  the  inciden- 
tal honors  of  official  station,  in  the  service  of  the 
people  who  delight  to  honor  you,  urge  the  strongest 


45 

claims  to  confidence  and  gratitude — claims  that  are 
met  with  promptitude  and  pleasure,  by  the  great 
body  of  your  fellow-citizens.  That  your  services 
may  long  be  continued  in  some  one  of  the  elevated 
departments  of  state  or  national  legislation,  where 
exalted  talents  and  pure  patriotism  have  a  wide 
field  for  appropriate  action — and  that  you  may  en- 
joy till  the  close  of  a  long  and  useful  life  the  unim- 
paired and  increasing  confidence  of  the  wise  and  the 
good  in  every  part  of  our  favored  land,  is  not  more 
the  fervent  prayer  of  the  humble  individual  now  ad- 
dressing you,  than  of  many  thousands  in  the  Amer- 
ican Israel. 

His  Honor,  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  with  the 
Council,  the  Senate,  and  the  assembled  Represen- 
tatives of  the  people,  will  accept  our  sincere  con- 
gratulations to-day — not  so  much  that  they  are 
honored  by  the  voice  of  their  constituents,  as  that 
they  are  placed  in  those  relations  to  our  country 
which  throw  wide  open  the  door  to  usefulness,  and 
to  a  permanent  rank  among  the  benefactors  of  the 
world.  God,  by  the  voice  of  your  fellow-citizens, 
calls  you  to  occupy  your  present  stations.  And 
with  his  fear  in  your  hearts,  and  the  glory  of  your 
country  in  your  eye,  you  will  cheerfully  task  all 
your  energies,  and  bring  into  effort  all  your  wisdom 


46 

and  zeal,  to  sustain  the  fundamental  principles  of 
order,  liberty  and  peace.  That  all  your  delibera- 
tions may  be  distinguished  by  mutual  courtesy — 
by  elevated  views,  and  strongly  marked  sentiments 
of  patriotism  and  philanthropy — and  that  they  may 
be  followed  by  results,  cheering  to  your  hearts  in 
the  retrospect  of  life,  and  in  the  anticipations  of 
their  bearing  on  the  interests  of  posterity — and  that 
all  may  redound  to  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  and  the 
moral  and  political  regeneration  of  a  world  lying  in 
wickedness — cannot  be  objects  of  more  earnest  de- 
sire to  yourselves,  than  of  hope  and  expectation  to 
thousands,  who  will  follow  you  with  their  prayers 
and  grateful  benedictions,  throughout  the  whole  pe- 
riod of  your  labors. 

And  now,  "  The  Lord  bless  you  and  keep  you." 
"  The  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  you, 
and  be  gracious  to  you." 

"  The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  you, 
and  give  you  peace." 


F  /IM/I 


LIBRARY 


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